The Day of the Jackal (1973)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Frederick Forsyth (book)
Kenneth Ross (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 July 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Jackal spent 71 days,56 minutes thinking a bullet into the brain of de Gaulle

Plot:

A professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" plots to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France.

Plot Keywords:

Assassin | French | President | France | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Edward Fox	...	The Jackal
Terence Alexander	...	Lloyd
Michel Auclair	...	Colonel Rolland
Alan Badel	...	The Minister
Tony Britton	...	Inspector Thomas
Denis Carey	...	Casson
Adrien Cayla-Legrand	...	The President
Cyril Cusack	...	The Gunsmith
Maurice Denham	...	General Colbert
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	The Interrogator
Jacques François	...	Pascal (as Jacques Francois)
Olga Georges-Picot	...	Denise
Raymond Gérôme	...	Flavigny (as Raymond Gerome)
Barrie Ingham	...	St. Clair
Derek Jacobi	...	Caron

Also Known As:

Chacal (France)

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

150 Rue de Rennes, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company:

Warwick Film Productions

Trivia:

The publication of the novel "The Day of the Jackal" and the releasing of the film two years later caused the Public Records Office and Passport Office in London to tighten up their rules to avoid (or at least lessen the chances of) anyone using the identity of a dead person.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the dispatch-rider arrives at the Ministry of the Interior, there's a new type Citroen ID/DS parked in the courtyard: the version with the double headlights that wasn't introduced until the late sixties.

Quotes:

The Gunsmith: Will the gentleman be moving?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pen Pals (1974)

outstanding

This movie turned up on TCM last night and I found it to be outstanding. The movie has a very handsome look with terrific shots of Paris and Italy. The lead actors, Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale, are actors that are rarely seen by American audiences which I thought helped the viewer really get into the suspense of the film. This is unquestionably Edward Fox's most memorable performance.

The movie is extremely suspenseful even though the viewer knows that the Jackel will not be able to assassinate Charles de Gaulle. While there were several assassination attempts against de Gaulle, he survived them all, so you know the Jackel will fail. Even though you know that, it is fascinating to see the Jackel assemble his false identities, his weapon, his forged papers as he methodically and dispassionately goes about his trade as the world's finest assassin.

Michael Lonsdale is also outstanding as the premier French detective who is given carte blanche by the government to hunt down the Jackel by any means necessary. The movie is set in 1963 and so it is a bit jarring to listen to the cops talk about how they will be getting a copy of the Jackel's fake passport that evening as it is flown to them from Britain---how did they get along without faxes and computers? Given the tenor of our times with every sensible nation turning things upside down to find terrorists, it is interesting to see how authorities try to stop an assassin forty years ago.

Throughout the movie the Jackel remains an enigma. Other than getting a ton of money, we have no idea why he's an assassin. The Jackel also takes some extraordinary risks---taking time to seduce a Frenchwoman while he knows the cops are hot on his trail and then going back to her only to murder her after she reveals to him that the cops have already approached her about him.

Then, even though he has half the fee already in the bank, the Jackel continues on with the assignment even though he could easily back out of it. Knowing that the police are searching every hotel in Paris, he brilliantly goes to ground by going to a gay bathhouse and spending the night at a man's apartment. Is the Jackel bisexual, gay or is he simply doing what is necessary to stay out of sight?

This is a terrific movie all around and very superior to more recent suspense movies.